CPC Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CPC facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the primary purpose of source selection criteria in procurement? → To provide an objective basis for evaluating and comparing vendor proposals
2. Management reserve differs from contingency reserve in that: → Management reserve covers unknown unknowns, while contingency reserve covers known risks
3. The 100% rule in WBS development states that: → The WBS must capture 100% of the work defined in the project scope
4. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs suggests that project managers should FIRST address: → Basic physiological and safety needs before higher-level motivators
5. Which document formally specifies the acceptance criteria that deliverables must meet? → Project scope statement
6. Which team development technique involves bringing geographically dispersed team members together in one location for critical meetings? → Co-location (war room)
7. The Estimate at Completion (EAC) represents: → The expected total cost of the project based on current performance
8. A project coordinator reviews completed deliverables against acceptance criteria before presenting them to the client. This is an example of: → Quality control
9. A Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) such as a RACI chart is used to: → Clarify roles and responsibilities for each task among team members
10. Team ground rules in project management are important because they: → Set clear expectations for behavior and reduce interpersonal conflicts
11. A stakeholder asks the project coordinator to add a new feature that is clearly outside the approved scope. The coordinator should: → Log the request and direct it through the formal change control process
12. Benchmarking in quality management involves: → Comparing project practices or results against industry best practices or competitors
13. Procurement audits are conducted to: → Review the procurement process for successes and failures to capture lessons learned
14. Make-or-buy analysis in procurement helps the project team decide: → Whether to produce goods/services internally or procure them externally
15. McGregor's Theory X assumes that workers: → Are inherently lazy, avoid responsibility, and must be closely supervised
16. When building a new project team, which activity should occur first? → Clarifying roles, responsibilities, and expectations for all team members
17. What is scope creep? → The uncontrolled addition of features or work without proper change management
18. How do you assess resource allocation in a project? → By assessing resource availability and skills
19. What is a key component of risk management? → Risk assessment and mitigation
20. A scatter diagram is used in quality management to: → Show the potential relationship between two variables
21. Why is it important to keep stakeholders informed? → It aligns stakeholders with the project's objectives
22. What is 'gold plating' in the context of project management? → Delivering extra features or enhancements beyond the agreed scope without authorization
23. Which cost estimate type has the widest accuracy range and is produced earliest in the project? → Rough order of magnitude (ROM)
24. The 80/20 rule applied to quality states that: → 80% of defects come from 20% of causes
25. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is best described as: → A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work into manageable components
26. A sunk cost in project management refers to: → Money already spent that cannot be recovered, regardless of future decisions
27. A rejected change request should be: → Documented in the change log with the reason for rejection
28. A change request has been approved. What is the project coordinator's NEXT responsibility? → Update relevant project documents and baselines to reflect the approved change
29. A fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram is primarily used to: → Identify root causes of a defect or problem
30. Cost of quality (COQ) includes which two broad categories? → Cost of conformance and cost of non-conformance